Tattoo Cover-Up Tutorial with Stephanie Wyatt

This month, QC Makeup Academy student Stephanie Wyatt shares her tips for concealing a tattoo with makeup. Learn her routine for covering tattoos flawlessly and building coverage!

Whether it’s for weddings, a special event, or a photoshoot, you’ll run into a few clients during your makeup career who need a tattoo covered. It sounds tricky – especially on dark or colorful tattoos!

But never fear – watch the tutorial below and find out how to cover a tattoo with makeup flawlessly!

Let’s Recap…

Lightly cleanse the area of the tattoo with a gentle makeup wipe. Stephanie recommends you make sure that the tattoo is completely healed, which generally takes about 45 days. This will avoid any contamination to the makeup and prevent infection on the skin.

Starting with a concealer one shade lighter than the skin, cover the tattoo fully. Either use a large makeup sponge or brush to stipple the concealer into the tattoo. The trick here is to stipple lightly to push the concealer into the skin. Rubbing will only remove the concealer and lighten your coverage.

Next, use a foundation that matches the skin color. Use your sponge or brush to stipple the product over the area you concealed.

Pro Tip: Lightly tap the product into the skin using the pad of your finger. This will stop the product from being absorbed into the sponge, providing fuller coverage.

To set the concealed area, use a matte translucent setting powder to set the makeup in place. Using a matte powder will keep the coverage looking flawless and will not draw extra attention to the area.

To complete the coverage, set the area with a setting spray. This will keep the coverage in place all day.

Use both your judgment and your client’s opinion to decide if you need more coverage on the area. Some people will need a tattoo completely covered, where others don’t mind if a bit peeks through.